Tag Archives: sports

Not all sports are created equal and some of the most popular tournaments in the world offer more than just entertainment and cultural pride, but also massive economic benefits to both their participants and organizers. This is true especially when it comes to the biggest and highly phenomenal sporting events today.

Here are some of the most expensive and extremely profitable sporting events in history and what made them stand out from the rest.

The World Series is Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 100-year old showpiece series, featuring the biggest baseball teams across the United States. It was in 2016 when they recorded their most memorable, and not to mention profitable game yet: Chicago Cubs defeated Cleveland Indians and won the series championship – an epic comeback after their century-long drought without a World Series title.

The event was founded in the 1960s with just four teams and it has expanded in terms of scale and profit in the last 50 years. The Euro 2016 was held in France and it was the biggest tournament to date, with 24 nations participating. Portugal holds the current championship title.

The international football (soccer) scene is one of the most globally renowned, with the last tournament boasting 700 million in audience population. FIFA’s highly commercial operations make it one of the most expensive sports events in the world both in terms of rewards and revenues.

Most sports analysts and investors know that UEFA Champions League—another major football event—is where the money is made, boasting millions to billions worth of prizes. Many superstars are present in every UEFA Champions League tournament and we’re talking about the most expensive players in the world of football: Manuel Neuer, Daniel Carvajal, Diego Godín, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and a lot more.

Technology has been an essential part of our everyday life, from helping us with simple tasks to accomplishing complicated projects. In fact, the practicality and efficiency of using this modern wonder have been transforming different industries for years–and the world of professional sports is no exception. Let’s take a look at the latest and most innovative technological advancements that are revolutionizing the sports industry today.

Virtual Reality (VR) in sports training

Image source: Sports Illustrated

Many famous NFL and NCAA players were trained with the help of virtual reality (VR) and we see U.S. teams like Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and others have partnered the VR-based training method with their usual drills to prepare for most of their major games.

With VR, players can have the chance to reassess their performance from watching themselves in pre-recorded drills, analyzing better plays and improving footwork and movement.

3D-Printing in professional sports products

Image source: theluxonomist.es

Just like how it conquered other industries, 3D-printing is making its name in the world of sports through high-quality and professional-grade products and equipment.

Its recent popularity in the industry can be credited to the technology’s capabilities that allow full customization, cost efficiency and freedom for creativity – since its innovative nature can produce a list of new and much-needed revolutionary sports products that have not existed before.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for sports management

Image source: esri.com

Used in the business of sports, GIS technology can take care of management and security in large sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup. This is because, as an advanced software, it can track patterns, movements and even identify characteristics of participants in specified geographic locations.

GIS can also be used to analyze winning shots, provide play-related statistics that can improve players’ performance later on. For instance, the same technology was used to identify patterns during tennis’ London Gold Medal match between two sports superstar, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

Just like any other celebrity, professional athletes equally share the ups and downs of fame and fortune. Success has let them achieve their wildest dreams, doing the things that they love while amassing wealth and inspiring millions of fans around the world.

However, accomplished athletes also face the everyday challenges of managing and maintaining their wealth. Unlike other celebrities like Hollywood superstars or self-made millionaires, their income peaks at a very young age and can dramatically and unpredictably drop depending on some unforeseen circumstances.

Most of the time, professional athletes are amateur wealth managers and their financial literacy can fall ‘below average,’ making them vulnerable to risky investments and unwise decisions, among others. However, there are some who have successfully found the ultimate solution to both maintain and grow their wealth by focusing on one important goal: building multiple streams of income. In other words, as professional and high-earning athletes, they make more money not just from one but many sources.

Image source: moneyinc.com

For instance, most individuals who have enough financial resources earn more by diversifying their income through investing, especially with trusted investment companies such as LOM Financial. In contrary to what other people think, investing is not just about setting money aside for a rainy day but it’s more about using a substantial capital to generate an equally significant income over time.

Another income stream that professional athletes can look at is in real estate – by diversifying one’s investment portfolio by acquiring properties that can provide long-term, and tax-free, financial benefit. In fact, several sports superstars including Andre Agassi, Alex Rodriguez and Shaquille O’Neal have found a home in the real estate industry.

Finally, most athletes don’t really enjoy the technicalities of financial management but do love to earn more by doing something that they enjoy. One stream of income is starting a small business, whether online or offline. Some may call it, “hobby business” and it’s for a reason. Usually, this stream of income is related to the athletes’ interests and hobbies.